Best gaming laptop deals for March 2022

Behind us are the days when gamers looked down their noses at laptops, which couldn’t come anywhere close to the performance of desktop PCs at the time. A lot has changed over the last decade, however, with modern mobile GPUs and CPUs that can easily run the latest games — and there are even plenty of good laptops for casual players and those on a budget. So whether you play games like Fortnite or Minecraft or you’re after a beefy battle station for enjoying new AAA releases like Elden Ring and Halo Infinite, this list of the week’s best gaming laptop deals can scratch that itch and save you some money.

Best gaming laptop deals

Dell G15 RTX 3050 Ti Gaming Laptop — $700 with code SAVE17, was $1,219

Why buy

Dell is a value leader in the world of laptops, and gaming laptops are no exception. The Dell G15 is arguably the best budget laptop on the market for gaming if you want a solid machine for work and play that won’t set you back more than a grand. This one pairs an Intel Core i5-10500H processor with a GeForce RTX 3050 Ti graphics card, one of Nvidia’s newer RTX 30-series GPUs, which has 4GB of GDDR6 video RAM.

That hardware is more than capable of playing new games at good settings, and it’s helped further by the 1080p display’s smooth 120Hz refresh rate. This higher refresh rate allows you to game comfortably at 60 frames per second without annoyances like visual stutter or screen-tearing. The 15.6-inch screen is surrounded by slim bezels, too, giving the laptop a nice aesthetic that’s suitably modern without looking garish.

You can normally expect to pay nearly a grand or even more for a gaming laptop sporting a GeForce RTX 30-series graphics card, but a very nice discount with checkout code SAVE17 knocks the Dell G15 down to a very affordable $700 for a limited time.

MSI GF65 RTX 3060 Gaming Laptop — $800, was $1,100

Why buy

If you’re willing to pay for a processor upgrade over our first pick, this MSI gaming laptop is a fine choice. Normally, the GPU is the most expensive part of a gaming machine — if any component will bottleneck your gaming performance, it’s going to be the graphics card. However, the CPU is still very important, as it handles the main computing tasks as well as almost everything else you’re doing when you’re not gaming.

This gaming laptop sports an Intel Core i5 CPU, but the star of this show is clearly the graphics card: You get an Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060, one of the best mobile GPUs on the market now and is almost unheard of at this price point. This processor and graphics card combo is more than sufficient for tackling the latest games at high settings, and with that GPU, you’ve got plenty of horsepower for video work and multitasking as well.

The brushed black chassis and red backlit keyboard also look great if you’d prefer something off the beaten path of the usual flat black and gray gaming laptops, but don’t want something that looks too loud. And at $800 after a $300 discount, this is one of the best budget gaming laptops if you want to spend less than a grand.

Lenovo Legion 5 17 RTX 3050 Gaming Laptop — $920, was $1,050

Why buy

You might know Lenovo for its ThinkPad work laptops, but this brand has some pretty great gaming machines under its umbrella, too. The Lenovo Legion 5 is one of them, and this 17-inch laptop is a beast that can be a stand-in for a desktop PC if you want a larger machine that you can still fold in half and put into your backpack or shoulder bag. And with an HDMI port, you can even hook it up to an external monitor when you’re back at your battle station for a desktop-like gaming setup.

Under the hood, the Lenovo Legion 5 combines the speed of an AMD Ryzen 5 5600H processor with 8GB of RAM and an Nvidia GeForce RTX 3050 graphics card with 4GB of VRAM. That’s enough power to enjoy modern games at good settings while also delivering plenty of juice for work — this would be a fine laptop for a student who likes to kick back with some gaming after a day of class. The full-size backlit keyboard is also ideal for working on comfortably, and you even get a numeric keypad.

The chassis has a professional-looking design that doesn’t scream “gaming laptop” to everybody in the room, too, making it suitable for classroom and workplace environments. The Lenovo Legion 5 can be yours for $920 after a $230 savings, making this one of the best 17-inch gaming laptops on the market right now for less than $1,000.

HP Victus 16 RTX 3050 Ti Gaming Laptop — $1,000, was $1,250

Why buy

One of our favorite gaming laptops to come along in recent years, the HP Victus is a great compromise between 15-inch and 17-inch laptops if you want something a little bigger but not too bulky to comfortably move around. With its 16.1-inch 1080p display, the Victus fits the bill, giving you a little more screen real estate to work with but without veering too far into “desktop replacement” category like the Lenovo Legion 5 does.

The highlight of this design is the sleek frame and 16-inch size, but it’s got the hardware where it counts, too. Its AMD Ryzen 7 5800H processor packs eight cores and offers a maximum clock speed of 4.4 GHz, which is great for productivity. It’s no slouch for gaming, either, with its GeForce RTX 3050 Ti GPU. Better still, you’ve got 16GB of RAM — double the amount that you usually see on budget and mid-range gaming laptops.

The display has a 144Hz refresh rate as well, so you don’t have to worry about the screen being unable to keep up with all that muscular hardware when you’re playing at higher framerates. For $1,000 on the mark, it doesn’t get much better than the HP Victus gaming laptop.

Gigabyte G5 RTX 3060 Gaming Laptop — $1,000, was $1,300

Why buy

If you’ve been immersed in the world of PC gaming for a while, then you probably know the name Gigabyte, even if you’ve never had the pleasure of using any of the brand’s hardware yourself. If that’s because you’ve been waiting for a worthy gaming laptop deal, then this discount on the Gigabyte G5 might be your chance to finally pull the trigger.

This understated-looking gaming machine packs a powerful 11th-gen Intel Core i5-11400H processor along with 16GB of RAM and an Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060 graphics card, giving you plenty of muscle for playing the latest AAA games at good settings while also making this a solid machine for work and productivity. But with Gigabyte, you’re getting much more than just great hardware.

The laptop features a proprietary Windforce cooling system, which utilizes dual thermal fans and an advanced heat pipe setup that pulls heat away and pushes it out of three vents. This results in great thermal performance when the CPU and GPU are under load. The build quality is also top-tier, as you’d expect from a top brand like this. You can score this gaming laptop deal for just $1,000 and save $300 right now.

HP Omen 17 RTX 3070 QHD Gaming Laptop — $1,500, was $1,750

Why buy

If “budget” isn’t in your vocabulary and you want a serious gaming laptop that will last you for years and years, the new HP Omen 17 needs to be on your radar. This portable gaming PC is large and in charge with its 17-inch display, but its sleek overall design and narrow bezels keep the laptop slim enough that it shouldn’t weigh you down.

That 17-inch 1440p Quad HD screen also has a very impressive refresh rate of 165Hz, something not often seen on laptops. That’ll let you play at higher framerates smoothly, while mitigating annoyances like stuttering and screen-tearing during fast-paced scenes, whether you’re gaming or streaming video. That lets you get the most out of the hardware under the hood.

And you’ll want a display like that to go with the hardware: This 17-inch laptop comes loaded with a Core i7-11800H octa-core processor, a boosted 16GB of RAM, and Nvidia’s RTX 3070 GPU with 8GB of VRAM, meaning this laptop will effortlessly handle new AAA releases for years to come. The advanced HP Omen Tempest cooling technology is also one of the best thermal designs we’ve seen on a laptop. This is a high-end gaming system with an MSRP to match, but a $250 markdown lets you grab it right now for $1,500.

When are the best gaming laptop deals?

Gaming laptops (and laptops in general) are hot items, but they’re also pricey. That’s why it’s always a good idea to poke through any and all gaming laptop deals that are available when you’re in the market for a new one. Even a budget-friendly computer isn’t a small purchase by any means, and a good gaming laptop deal can easily save you hundreds of dollars on what is likely to be the most expensive piece of tech you own.

It shouldn’t come as a huge surprise that the best gaming laptop deals are up for grabs during big seasonal sales. Retailers run big sales during holidays and especially during holidays that involve three-day weekends as people love to shop during these times. Presidents Day, July 4, and Labor Day are popular examples. But the biggest gaming laptop deals always come during huge retail events like Amazon Prime Day, which typically happens in the summer, and Black Friday (now a weekend-long event that includes Cyber Monday).

Oftentimes, however, if you need a new laptop — particularly if you use yours for work or school — you can’t afford to wait weeks or even months for the next big sale to arrive. After all, the biggest blowouts like Prime Day and Black Friday/Cyber Monday only happen a few times a year. If you don’t have the luxury of waiting, then the good news is that retailers are offering up good gaming laptop deals pretty much year-round. Just do your research and keep an eye on this roundup right here, as we’ll always keep you updated with the best gaming laptop deals that are available.

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